Kenyan leader expresses optimism of securing UN Security Council non-permanent seat

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has expressed optimism his country will secure a non-permanent membership seat in the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2021-2022 term during elections slated for Wednesday evening.

If elected, Kenyatta has said Kenya will advance the pan-Africanist agenda of global peace, solidarity and multilateralism.

“A vote for Kenya is a vote for peace. A vote for Kenya is a vote for global solidarity. A vote for Kenya is a vote for multilateralism,” he said in a statement issued on Wednesday after a virtual campaign meeting held on Tuesday night with permanent representatives of various countries to the UN hosted by Kenya ahead of UNSC elections.

Citing Kenya’s long history of contributing troops to peacekeeping interventions, Kenyatta said Nairobi has the right credentials to represent the African continent in the UNSC.

Kenya has been a non-permanent member of the council twice in the years 1973-1974 and 1997-1998.

The president lauded the African Union for endorsing Kenya’s bid for the security council slot saying, if elected, the country will use the privileged position to advance a pan-Africanist agenda for peace, multilateralism and global solidarity. Enditem